Ollie Bearman replaces Kevin Magnussen for Haas at the F1 Brazilian GP FP1 and Sprint Qualifying
Ferrari youngster Ollie Bearman replaces Kevin Magnussen at Haas for the F1 Brazilian GP FP1 and sprint qualifying. As updated by the American team on their social media handle, the Danish driver is not feeling well and will miss the running on Friday.
Ollie Bearman would replace Kevin Magnussen for Haas in what would be the young British driver's third appearance of the season. The Ferrari junior has already completed a race for the Italian team when he replaced Carlos Sainz for the F1 Saudi Arabian GP.
He took part in another race for Haas when Kevin Magnussen was banned for a race after reaching 12 F1 penalty points. On both occasions, the young British driver scored points and will now head into the third race weekend of his career.
As updated by the team on social media, the post read:
"MoneyGram Haas F1 Team driver Kevin Magnussen will not participate in Friday’s track running at the São Paulo Grand Prix after suffering with sickness. Official reserve driver Oliver Bearman will take over driving duties. The team wishes Kevin a quick recovery and will provide a further update in due course."
Since Ollie Bearman would replace Kevin Magnussen for the F1 Brazilian GP running on Friday, the driver would also take part in the sprint qualifying and the sprint on Saturday. As reported by F1 journalist Chris Medland on X (formerly Twitter),
"On this - as Bearman will complete Sprint Qualifying he will then have to race in the Sprint too tomorrow. If he's well enough, Magnussen can return for qualifying tomorrow and race in Sunday's GP. If he's not able to qualify, he can't race either"
Kevin Magnussen opens up on the opportunity to drive for Stake
Kevin Magnussen does not have a seat secured in F1 for 2025, as he will be replaced by Ollie Bearman at Haas next season. The Danish driver did, however, reveal that he'd had a few discussions with Andreas Seidl when he was leading Sauber but there has been radio silence ever since Mattia Binotto took over. Talking to the media, including Racingnews365, he said,
"Yeah, when Seidl was there, I heard from them, but I haven't heard from them since [Binotto took over]. He knows I'm here, I would hope so, and anyway, there is a lot going on in the background right now, so I am not ready to decide [my future]."
Adding that he was still hopeful about his prospects, Magnussen said:
"The season is still going, there is still a seat open in Formula 1 [for 2025], so there is no reason to commit to anything."
The Danish missed a year in 2021 when he was dropped by Haas and replaced by rookies Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. With the Sauber seat still vacant, it remains to be seen whether he can secure that spot.